About

Then and now

The Biomedical Imaging Resource (BIR) Core has been serving Mayo Clinic and external sites for more than a decade. The core initially began as a data repository for medical images, offering some of the largest data storage space on Mayo's campus in Rochester, Minn. Additionally, because of core expertise in image analysis, BIR Core staff would consult on experimental design.

Today, the BIR Core is a full-service provider of imaging-related services, including image analysis and data management services; protocol design consultations; custom software and hardware development; and media and model production services.

Research projects utilizing the BIR Core span the research continuum — from animal to cadaver to human imaging studies, and from microscopic imaging to whole-body scanning. Core users include everyone from individual investigators to multisite study teams.

Collaboration with BIR Research Laboratory

The director of the BIR Core , David Holmes III, Ph.D., is a researcher in the Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, as well as a member of the BIR Research Laboratory. As such, the BIR Core partners closely with Richard Robb, Ph.D., a world-renowned biomedical imaging investigator and director of the BIR Research Laboratory.

This close association allows BIR Core staff to utilize the widely disseminated Analyze software system — developed at Mayo Clinic — which provides extensive image processing and analysis capabilities. BIR Core staff regularly provides feedback and new software routines to the Analyze team, helping to expand the capabilities of this cutting-edge software.

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